It was 1968 and our country achieved its first victory in the Eurovision Song Contest. Then in Spain there was the dictator Francisco Franco, who, like many, immediately understood the true potential of this contest.

“Franco’s Spain in the 60s was trying to join the European Economic Community (EEC) and one of the ways to present itself as a more open regime It was precisely to intervene and win in the Eurovision Song Contest.“explains Antonio Obregón, professor at the Comillas Pontifical University.

And Franco couldn’t have done better with two consecutive victories. A pattern that is repeated with many other countries as different as Türkiye or Israel. “Israel not only uses Eurovision, but also sports competitionsas a way to show that it is a democracy like the Western ones throughout the Middle East,” details Obregón.

Even the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, shows his interest in this contest, and tries create a similar one but in 1994 Become part of the big family. External conflicts often affect the future of the festival But it is not until 2022 when the war in Ukraine causes the EBU to expel Russia from Eurovision.

“Numerous public television stations demanded his expulsion; that has not happened, however, in the case of Israel,” adds the professor. A position that has not pleased the Eurofans who are with “a mixture of anger and sadness.”

Israel is still in the competition and they are afraid of the message that if it wins, there will be “the message that all of Europe is with Israel, while “Any attempt to defend Palestine seems to be frowned upon neither outside nor inside the festival.”